


Cry Me A River

by gblvr



Category: NSYNC
Genre: Multi, Partner Betrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-30
Updated: 2010-01-30
Packaged: 2017-10-06 20:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gblvr/pseuds/gblvr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knew the video was extreme, but he never dreamed it would get this reaction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cry Me A River

He knew the video was extreme, but he never dreamed it would get this reaction -- women's groups were calling on people to boycott it, the fans were a bit freaked out. Britney and Wade told the press 'no comment' but Lynne blasted him; even his own mom was a little unhappy about it. He could deal with that -- boycotts equaled publicity, fans were fickle, and really? He could give a shit less what Brit or her mother thought. His mom was mainly worried about what _other_ people thought.

The guys, though -- their opinion was important -- he wanted their approval. JC understood why he'd done it, but understanding and approving weren't the same thing. Joey hadn't said a word; when Joe was quiet, it usually meant he was pissed and didn't want to deal with it.

Lance and Chris seemed the most disappointed; Lance mumbled something about being a gentleman and refused to comment any further. Chris just wrapped his arm around Lance and looked at Justin with angry eyes before leaning to whisper in Lance's ear.

At that moment, seeing the sadness in Lance's face, Justin remembered that he wasn't the only one who'd been hurt by Wade and Britney....

# # #

Lance hated "Cry Me A River." He hated what he knew it stood for, hated that Justin wanted to put something that painful on display, hated the fact that Justin could simply because Britney was the right sex, hated the fact that he couldn't because Wade was not.

As much as he hated the song, he hated the video even more. It wasn't that it was badly done; it was that it was vindictive and mean and thoughtless, and really, how the fuck could Justin put it out there for the world to see and still consider himself Lance's friend?

# # #

"I'm sure that wasn't what it looked like."

Lance scowled and looked away from the screen. "I think it was exactly what it looked like. He's still pissed at them and he's being a bitch about it."

"It wasn't something he meant to do, though."

Lance's laugh was harsh, in spite of the tears in his eyes. "Of course he meant to do it. He wants to hurt her, and he knows what people will think when they see this. He's not stupid, Chris."

Chris touched Lance's cheek, reverently, saying, "No, I meant -- he didn't mean to hurt you."

# # #

Justin was his best friend, but right now? Chris wanted to fucking kill him. The only thing saving him was the fact that he'd had the decency to send them all copies of the video before MTV aired it. Chris could only imagine what Lance was thinking and feeling, and how much worse it would have been if the video had gone public before he saw it.

Chris'd hated everything about the break-up: Brit was a great girl, but she had her faults and cheating was one of them. Justin -- well, it's not like he was entirely innocent, either. Chris had never liked Wade, and he'd taken great pleasure in firing the little fucker. The one person who was totally blameless in the whole sordid mess was Lance, and it looked like he was going to be one hurt the most in this go-round, too.

Chris was damned if he was going to let that happen. He'd wanted Lance for so long, loved him and waited for him, and it had finally looked like Lance was over this, was over Wade, and fuck. No. Lance was not going to get caught up in this again if Chris could help it....

# # #

He wanted to see Justin, ask him what he thought he was going to accomplish.... He wanted to ask if he felt better, or if reliving it had only made him feel worse.

But when he saw Justin, alone in his huge house, the words dried up, and he barely managed to mumble a reply to Justin's 'what did you think?'

All he could see, hear, feel was Chris. Chris, whose hand was steady against his back, Chris who had been there the last three days and always and forever, talking to him, reassuring him, loving him. Chris, who was whispering 'are you okay?' in his ear.

He looked at Justin for a long time before he answered. He looked happy, but he wasn't -- not really -- and that made Lance sad, because without even knowing it, he had moved on but Justin was stalled at the crash site that had once been a tangled web of friendship and love.

Lance nodded once at Justin, murmuring 'I forgive you,' before he turned to Chris. He took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop pounding as he folded Chris's free hand in his and leaned in to kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted as drabbles to boybanddrabbles on LJ but they're all part of a whole. Spoilers for the video to "Cry Me A River." I have issues with this video on a good day; the day I wrote this wasn't a good day, so thinking about it sparked something for me....
> 
> Thanks go to Kim for the read-throughs and hand-holding; written in December 2002.


End file.
